Daimler is spending EUR600m on the Mercedes-Benz A- and B-class plant in Rastatt and EUR800m in a new plant at Kecskemét in Hungary.
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The first new generation models will be built from the end of 2011.
“With this significant investment we are defining our future in the compact car segment and safeguard the plant Rastatt in the long term. In addition, we will continue to invest in our locations in Germany – about EUR3bn in 2009 and 2010 alone,” said Daimler chairman and M-B cars unit chief Dieter Zetsche.
An additional body shop has been built to extend Rastatt. To enable part deliveries and unloading directly at the production site, a direct train connection is planned for the hall. A ground breaking ceremony for a new EUR70m press shop was held in the nearby town of Kuppenheim in June.
Mercedes-Benz will eventually sell four compact models, up from two now.
Construction in Kecskemét began a few days ago with the official ground-breaking ceremony. The paint shop is being constructed first, followed by the body shop and the assembly hall starting early next year. Both plants will together form a coordinated production network with the first Hungarian cars off line in 2012.
“Production costs are a key factor in the competitiveness of the price-sensitive compact vehicle segment. The coordinated production network of the Rastatt and Kecskemét plants will make a key contribution to this,” said M-B cars COO Rainer Schmückle. “In future, three of four vehicles of the successor generation to the A- and B-Class will come from [Rastatt] which will remain a central proven component of our production network.”
Since the A-class entered production in 1997 and the B-Class in 2005, over 2.4m units have been made. Between 2002 and 2005 Daimler spent about EUR900m on Rastatt for the second generation A-class and the B-class.
The cars’ top markets are Germany, Italy, France and the UK. The B-Class was this year launched in China where it has gained a market share of 25%, significantly above expectations.
From the end of 2010 Rastatt output will expand with small volume production of the electric A-class E-cell.
Rastatt currently employs 5,700.
